Granada, Spain
Hi Daniel, I am a first time dog owner. After years in an office I now work from home and had been thinking of getting a dog for some time. I was still in the process of deciding whether to go to a breeder or a shelter when I found Leo, a mixed race puppy of now about 7 months, abandoned in the streets 4 months ago.
Having no experience at all I immediately started looking for all the information I needed in order to have a healthy, well behaved and happy dog. I found the search rather frustrating until I came across your web site and bought your book. Finally I had found what I was after - information about the nature of dogs which helped a lot to understand Leo’s behaviour, easy to follow step by step instructions for teaching him all the things I want and don’t want him to do, invaluable tips and case studies for coping with any problems. It all made so much sense and gave me a lot of confidence.
Although Leo had been a friendly, loving and fairly unproblematic dog right from the beginning, he did at times have quite a mind of his own. So I found especially the section on being the alpha dog extremely useful. In fact, I cringed (and giggled) when I realised the mistakes I had been making – feeding him first in an attempt to prevent him from begging, letting him go through doors first or stepping around him when he’d made himself comfortable in an inconvenient spot. Changing my behaviour was easy and showed amazing results after just a few days. With your book as a constant companion it is a lot of fun training Leo and no doubt he is enjoying it too. Thanks so much for your help.